Why Did Arms Worth $2 Billion Get Shipped to Pakistan? Indian Army Reflects on US Relations Amid Trump's Criticism

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- India reveals long-standing US arms supplies to Pakistan.
- Tensions between the US and India have escalated recently.
- President Trump threatens tariffs on Indian imports.
- India counters with strong statements against US treatment.
- Historical context sheds light on current geopolitical dynamics.
New Delhi, Aug 5 (NationPress) As tensions between the US and India escalate concerning trade relations, the Indian Army revealed on Tuesday that Pakistan, a known refuge for global terrorists, has been receiving an uninterrupted flow of arms from America since 1954. The Eastern Command of the Indian Army shared a historical newspaper clipping from the archives of 1971 on its social media, captioning it, “This Day That Year: Build Up of War – 05 Aug 1971.”
The newspaper headline states, “US Arms worth $2 billion shipped to Pakistan since 1954,” providing detailed insights into the arms supplies from the US to Pakistan.
This report emphasizes that the United States was a major supplier of arms to Pakistan until 1971, the same year that witnessed a war between India and Pakistan, ultimately leading to the creation of Bangladesh.
The Indian Army’s revival of this old news piece is particularly significant given President Donald Trump’s recent comments directed at India, including threats of imposing a ‘penalty’ and the introduction of a 25 percent tariff.
Trump has previously threatened to raise tariffs on Indian imports, criticizing India's acquisition of subsidized oil from Russia. This has prompted a robust response from India and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which highlighted what it termed as 'unfair' treatment by the US.
Trump stated on Truth Social, “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.”
In retaliation, India reminded the US of its encouragement of imports from Russia after the Ukraine conflict erupted.
In response to Trump’s threats regarding the purchase of Russian oil, the MEA declared that the US objections were “unjustified and unreasonable.”
Furthermore, it criticized the European Union for singling out Indian refiners for their trade with Russia and pointed out the hypocrisy of the US and EU, noting that America continues to import uranium hexafluoride from Russia for its nuclear facilities.